Wanted: Axle parts

[Phil Waterman]

Hi Austin

How much off roading do you plan to do with the truck? My reason for asking is that the front ends can be assembled with out the inner drive shaft and any of the ball joint parts. All you need to carry the load of the front wheels is the short outer shafts.

This has been my fall back plan if I ever break an inner shaft or have problems with the ball drive shafts. This practice of neutering the front ends was fairly common, to the point that some of the US Chevy 1 1/2 ton manuals have a special section for doing it. See http://canadianmilitarypattern.com/T...%20Excerpt.htm on my web site.

If you go this route you really need to remove the same parts on both sides. Don't go shifting the transfer case in to 4 wheel drive while moving when you have done this it makes a horrible noise as the front shaft is not moving. However you can still use the low gear range if you come to a complete stop. Be careful though using low range with just the rear wheels driving lots of torque.

Make this as a suggestion so you can get your truck moving while you hunt for parts or a spare axle. I drove my HUP this way for a couple of years when I first had it, little quieter and little better gas mileage.

Cheers Phil

[Bob Carriere]

Hi Austin

There are two sizes of axles..... one for the 15 cwt and one for the larger 60 cwt.

First we need to identify the size of your axle...... on top of the steering knuckle..... the small axle has four bolts..... the larger has 6 bolts...

see Picture attached... any CMP axle withthat 4 bolt size will have the saem ration. In addition...on top of the centre gear cluster.... there should be a ratio stamped into the cast iron body..... you may need to clean the area with a stiff wire brush and wet down with light oil to be able to read it.

Bob C

[AustinM]

mine has the 4 bolts on that piece. And Phil, thanks for the suggestion but i want the 4 wheel drive.

[Bob Carriere]

HI Austin

Remember the outward plange on each side of the axle.... once unbolted a Chev steeerign knuckle or Ford steering knuckle is the same and will bolt in place.

IF $$$ is a concern....forget fixing the R-Zeppa and get a regular CMP axle and get mobile.

Bob

[AustinM]

well ill keep my eyes open but the only axles like this ive ever seen are mine and the guy down the road from me has the chev versions

[Tony Wheeler]

Originally Posted by AustinM

the guy down the road from me has the chev versions

Are they available or are they on a running vehicle? If they're available then you can pull out the complete axle shaft and CV joint assembly and use that. They're interchangeable between Fords and Chevs. At least, they are with the large 6" steering ends anyway. I know because I once replaced the damaged Rzeppa type joint on my Ford with the other type which I pulled out of a Chev. Yours are the small 4 7/8" steering ends but I would imagine they're interchangeable too. Of course, that's assuming the guy down the road has the small steering ends.

Whether or not those ones are available, you'll definitely have to source a complete CV joint assembly. Even if you managed to find a new Rzeppa cage and balls they'd be no good to you. The tolerance between the cage and the outer joint is very tight, the slightest damage to either surface will cause them to bind, which is what caused this failure in the first place. Since the cage is damaged, the outer joint is obviously damaged too. You wouldn't even be able to fit a new cage in there, much less get it to move freely. That was the problem with my own Rzeppa joint, and that cage was only lightly scuffed in one spot.

As the Ford manual says about Rzeppa joints: "These joints are built to a high degree of precision, and should be treated and serviced with the same care as ball bearings. Freedom from grit or other foreign matter, as well as proper lubrication are very important."

In other words, your whole CV joint is scrap. You'll need to find another one, or at least another front end to pull one out of. They're easy enough to find over here, but of course shipping cost would be prohibitive. As I say, I'd be pretty confident you could use a Chev one, provided it's 4 7/8" of course.